299 Posts Found

It’s perilously easy for corporate innovators to skate past the why and the how, particularly those working in new-growth groups or incubators. One mechanism some companies use to deal with this problem is to have each team complete a charter before it starts to work, detailing the project’s strategic intent (the why), specific goals (the how), strategic options that are on and off the table, … [ Read more ]

Author: Scott D. Anthony | Source: The Two Questions to Ask Before You Innovate | Original Publication: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Innovation, Management

Retailers typically follow one of two approaches on price promotions: They’ll discount that PDA to $349 for awhile and then bump it all the way back up to its regular price of $499, or they’ll tout their “everyday low prices” and leave it at $449 indefinitely. But a third tactic beats both, new research indicates.

A store can generate more revenue after a $349 promotion by … [ Read more ]

Author: Michael Tsiros | Source: Clawing Your Way Back from a Discount | Original Publication: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Pricing

Some innovative organizations are using a two-tier performance appraisal. One appraisal assesses how a person “manages”–did they get work accomplished in a timely manner and achieve their performance goals? This assessment determines the leader’s bonus. The second appraisal assesses the individuals leadership ability–how well did they develop, motivate and engage their people? This determines whether they get promoted. So someone may be … [ Read more ]

Author: Albert A. Vicere | Source: Leaders in Short Supply Just When We Need Them | Original Publication: LeaderValues | Subjects: Human Resources, Leadership, Management

Xerox PARC, a pioneer in attempting to maximize the social nature of information sharing, had its researchers doing short postings outside their offices on current projects, so passersby could rapidly discern where they might want to talk more with the occupant of the office.

Author: Allan Cohen | Source: A Leadership Challenge: Spreading Access To Ideas | Original Publication: Babson Insight | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Put on regular product and service fairs that allow all areas of your company to show off their results, explain what they’re working on, and swap ideas. A giant two-day fair at a large house-wares manufacturer resulted in 2,000 ideas for new products.

Author: Jim Clemmer | Source: Innovation and Organizational Learning Pathways and Pitfalls (Part 2) | Subjects: Best Practices, Innovation

A survey evaluating a team’s performance can be a powerful tool for making that team more effective. And the first message that consultants and HR professionals often communicate on these surveys is: “To ensure that the team gets the best data and feels protected, we will make sure responses are confidential.” The widespread assumption is that if team members know their answers are confidential, they … [ Read more ]

Author: Roger Schwarz | Source: What Anonymous Feedback Will (and Won’t) Tell You | Original Publication: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Metrics are as important for change initiatives as for any other aspect of running a business. If you are embarking on a change initiative, it is important to monitor how well it is going. One useful item to track is employee engagement and understanding. Do your employees understand the reasons for the change, the goal of the change and what their role in the change … [ Read more ]

Subjects: Change Management, Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

Talented people have so many opportunities that you can’t keep them forever. But even if they stop working for you, they can work with you. But how do you build a network that works? Here are a few tips.

1. There’s more than one way to network. An alumni community can be either an official company initiative or a grassroots effort. It comes down to ownership. … [ Read more ]

Source: Gone, but Not Forgotten | Original Publication: Fast Company | Subject: Human Resources

Instead of a suggestion box with a stack of cards, for example, you can offer a “venture planning” tool kit that enables all employees to submit more robust ideas than a few sentences on paper would allow. The tool kit could ask a series of basic questions — why should I invest, what are the potential markets, who might be the new industry players, what … [ Read more ]

Author: Linda Yates | Source: Will You Get to the Future FIRST? | Original Publication: Management Review | Subject: Innovation

A warning to senior executives of companies across industries: Your recruiters could be repelling your best job applicants. They’re providing the same recruiting messages to all candidates. But the reality is that not all applicants are looking for the same things. So companies must create distinct, targeted recruitment approaches for different profiles of applicants.

Applicants with advanced educational degrees, for example, are attracted to specific attributes … [ Read more ]

Author: Nikki Blacksmith | Source: Executives: Your Company Isn’t Attracting the Best Talent | Original Publication: Gallup Management Journal (GMJ) | Subject: Human Resources

Prudential’s recruiting method, called the Career Development Program, allows people to stay in their current jobs throughout six months of training — mostly online, and at the candidates’ own pace — to earn the professional designations required to become a certified life insurance agent and financial advisor.

Prudential launched the CDP in 2009 as a small-scale experiment, but it’s worked so well that it’s now the … [ Read more ]

Author: Anne Fisher | Source: Prudential’s secret for hiring self-starters: Try before you buy | Original Publication: FORTUNE | Subject: Human Resources

“Kill the Stupid Rules” is an exercise that focuses attention on non-essentials that get in everybody’s way. Most stupid rules are enshrined policies that, over time, become “how we do things around here” — that is, part of the culture. Often they’re minor but familiar irritations: expense documentation requirements, IT departments’ blocking of access to useful websites, monthly operating reports that eat up significant amounts … [ Read more ]

Author: Lisa Bodell | Source: Best Business Books 2012: Organizational Culture | Original Publication: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

“Kill the Company” is an exercise which asks participants to step into their competitors’ shoes and think up a detailed strategy aimed at driving their own company out of business. This is achieved by encouraging people to identify weaknesses in their company — or their business unit or division — and show how a savvy competitor could exploit them. The most useful insights surface when … [ Read more ]

Author: Lisa Bodell | Source: Best Business Books 2012: Organizational Culture | Original Publication: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Strategy

There are myriad business competitions, which companies enter for myriad reasons. Opportunistic CEOs slap together applications for every conceivable prize, hoping to show off their accomplishments or secure a PR payday. But no one undertakes Baldrige on a lark. The application for the award runs to 50 pages, with roughly 250 questions covering every aspect of performance, from strategic planning and knowledge management to work-force … [ Read more ]

Author: Leigh Buchanan | Source: We Will Be the Best-Run Business in America | Original Publication: Inc. Magazine | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Studies have shown that staff at different stages in their career favor different benefits, for example younger staff may tend to favor cash rewards rather than pensions. Companies can overcome these discrepancies by developing flexible “pick and mix” benefit options. An example of this is a points based system where staff at different levels qualify for varying levels of points; these points can … [ Read more ]

Author: Dani Novick | Source: Motivation – A Recruiter’s Perspective | Original Publication: LeaderValues | Subject: Human Resources

In one organization, managers give an “I caught you caring” pin to employees who demonstrate outstanding service or performance. Only a few stellar employees receive this coveted award. Below the words “I caught you caring” is the invitation “Ask me what I did!” This encourages the award-winning employees to share stories about their outstanding performance with their coworkers.

The pins have an ongoing impact on … [ Read more ]

Author: Vandana Allman | Source: Mismanagement in the Henhouse | Original Publication: Gallup Management Journal (GMJ) | Subject: Customer-Related

Make sure that you and people throughout your organization spend lots of time in external benchmarking and “corporate tourism” mode, looking for good ideas to swipe. Many of the opportunities or problems you’re facing now are old hat to somebody somewhere. Learning from other people’s experiences — both the successes and the failures — can take years and millions of dollars off your learning curve. … [ Read more ]

Author: Jim Clemmer | Source: Innovation and Organizational Learning Pathways and Pitfalls (Part 3) | Subjects: Best Practices, Innovation

Global manufacturer 3M has collected thousands of reviews and comments from more than a dozen retail sites and mobile apps, as well as Facebook postings, using them to improve marketing campaigns or create new ones. In one case, the company’s Precision Ultra Edge nonstick scissors were selling below expectations. 3M changed its product copy, quoting the language consumers used online (“they’re great for cutting fabric … [ Read more ]

Author: Matthew Egol | Source: The Social Life of Brands | Original Publication: strategy+business | Subjects: Customer-Related, Innovation, Market Research, Marketing / Sales

Breaking down functional silos is key to everything from encouraging communication to building valuable connections to sparking innovation. But, as we all know, bridging interdepartmental chasms is far easier said than done. Fortunately, some companies are starting to come up with creative solutions. Take, for example, Lunch Roulette, a new concept being used at the U.S. arm of pharmaceuticals manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim (BIPI).

Like many good … [ Read more ]

Author: Sylvia Ann Hewlett | Source: A New Way to Network Inside Your Company | Original Publication: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personal Improvement

When Chip Bergh was made President and CEO of Levi Strauss, he spent the first month mostly listening. He came up with a set of standard questions: What three things must we preserve? What three things must we change? What do you most hope I will do? What are you most concerned I might do? What advice do you have for me? He sent the … [ Read more ]

Author: Chip Bergh | Source: Navigating the First Year: Advice from 18 Chief Executives | Original Publication: strategy+business | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Improvement